The Students Federation of India (SFI), the student wing of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPI(M)), has resumed aggressive campus agitation across Kerala following the change of government in the state — but the organisation's conspicuous silence on the Public Service Commission (PSC) recruitment controversy is drawing sharp criticism from observers and job aspirants alike.

Return to Street Politics

SFI protests have been reported at multiple universities, including Calicut University, Kalady, and Kerala University, since the Congress-led government under Chief Minister V.D. Satheesan assumed office. Several of these demonstrations have resulted in direct clashes with the police, making campus confrontations a defining feature of the new political climate in Kerala.

During the preceding Pinarayi Vijayan government, SFI protests were relatively rare on campuses. One notable exception was the organisation's agitation against then Governor Arif Mohammed Khan, who also served as Chancellor of state universities. The contrast with its current posture is stark.

The Maharaja's College Incident

A particularly prominent flashpoint occurred last week at Maharaja's College in Kochi, where State Higher Education Minister Roji M. John was met with protests from SFI activists when he arrived to attend a convocation ceremony. The incident highlighted the extent of the shift in campus political dynamics since the government changed hands.

The Satheesan government and Home Minister Ramesh Chennithala have adopted a firm stance on such protests, and confrontations between student activists and the police have grown increasingly visible.

The PSC Controversy SFI Has Not Addressed

The ongoing investigation into alleged irregularities in PSC examinations and appointments has already resulted in the arrest of a senior commission official and a former employee. A Special Investigation Team (SIT) has questioned PSC Chairman M.R. Baiju and three other commission members. Notices have also been served to the remaining 12 members of the 16-member commission — all of whom were appointed during the previous Vijayan government.

The PSC controversy strikes at the credibility of a recruitment system that thousands of young people across Kerala depend on for government employment. It is, by any measure, an issue that directly affects students and job aspirants — the very constituency SFI publicly claims to represent. That makes the organisation's silence on the matter particularly difficult to ignore, critics argue.

The Larger Question

This is not merely an internal contradiction of one student organisation. SFI's selective activism — aggressive on the streets when the political opposition is in power, restrained when its parent party's governance legacy is under scrutiny — raises a broader question about accountability in student politics. The thousands of young Keralites awaiting fair, transparent PSC recruitment outcomes are still waiting for SFI to speak on their behalf. Whether the organisation eventually does so, or continues to stay silent, will be closely watched in the weeks ahead.